Shai MK Shmuel Toledano said last night he was withdrawing his demand for an investigation into the resignation of the chief of Shin Bet, Israel’s intelligence service, after both the intelligence chief and Premier Menachem Begin denied it was due to obstructions by Begin into the bombings against three West Bank mayors last June.
In a rare interview on radio, the Shin Bet chief called the allegations, “a total lie, totally untrue.” The allegations were made in a story published in the Washington Star last week. The Shin Bet chief is never identified in Israel but the Star said he is Avraham Sachtiv, 54.
The intelligence chief said he was disturbed that the Shin Bet had to be dragged into the political arena. He said the allegations were solely motivated by political reasons.
The intelligence chief said that the investigation into the June bombings, which left two West Bank mayors maimed, and into the massacre of yeshiva students in Hebron last May were the most intensive ever held. “Resentfully they have yielded no fruits as yet,” he said.
DECIDED TO RESIGN MONTHS AGO
In a statement issued before his radio interview, the Shin Bet chief said he decided to resign after 30 years in the intelligence service, the last six as its chief. “My request come long before the attack on the Arab mayors,” he said. “So, there is no basis for a claim that my request to terminate my service has anything to do with the attacks. The cooperation between the Premier and myself was and is excellent.”
In his letter to Begin requesting retirement several months ago, the chief wrote that “these six years were like 18 years in another post” because of the heavy responsibility and constant tension the position required.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
